


the snow is lovely and deep

by snowysatoru



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Dancing in the Snow, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, henlivia family, so this is henry!inigo in this fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-10-01 22:02:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17252192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowysatoru/pseuds/snowysatoru
Summary: For many years, whenever it begins to snow Inigo finds himself wandering into the woods whenever he isn't finding himself on the run from the Risen and dances to his heart's content in hopes of reliving some memories back when his parents were still alive.Even after traveling back in time to the past in hopes of preventing the apocalypse from happening, old habits die hard and he finds himself walking off into the woods once more, eager to continue this small tradition.And maybe a new memory or two when he's visited by some unexpected company.





	the snow is lovely and deep

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and happy end of 2018 (or happy 2019 if you've already entered the new year)! 
> 
> this is my gift for tumblr user @esgalas for nagamas, a fire emblem gift exchange! I love the henlivia family a lot and to see my giftee request it made me incredibly happy!
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading this fic as much as I did while writing it!

The weather outside was showing the beginnings of winter’s approach — the already cool temperatures growing colder, the trees naked with only a few stubborn leaves left on their branches; and most importantly, the ground beginning to become covered in a small blanket of snow.

Despite this change, Inigo still manages to find himself sneaking off to where he could practice his dancing like he’s done many, many times before. Nothing’s too big to stop him from his dance practice (except when he has to take part in an important battle, of course), and something as seemingly small as the snow was no exception. While Inigo had grown accustomed to the snow being gloomy and depressing — no thanks to traveling back in time from a future on the brink of disaster, but he digresses — this was the first time in a while where the snowy atmosphere felt peaceful and almost put his mind at ease, rather than running and fighting for his life.

Finding an area where he’s positive that no one will find him so easily, Inigo shakes his head to clear any thoughts clouding his mind. It takes a few minutes for him to warm up; to fight off any chills as well as making sure that he doesn’t possibly slip and fall into the snow but Inigo does eventually find his rhythm, moving gracefully and practicing certain moves until he was sure that he got them down to a point that he was satisfied with and was more than eager to show his mother the next time they practiced together.

Fortunately for him, he didn’t have to wait very long for that time because the second he stopped to catch his breath, Inigo could hear a small but clear ‘achoo!’ from behind one of the trees. Inigo turns around so quick that he almost stumbles and trips on himself, but he manages to catch and regain his balance in time.

Turning his head so rapidly that he almost makes himself dizzy, he looks to find the source of the sneeze that he had just heard and sees a fluff of long pink hair from behind the tree.

“Mother?!” Inigo yelps.

“H-Hello, Inigo,” Olivia stutters, shyly moving from her hiding place. “W-What a surprise to see you out here.”

“What in Naga’s name are you doing out here?!”

“W-Well—”

“Can’t a mother watch and admire her own son’s dancing, boy?” A voice calls from near where Olivia is standing, the sudden volume causing both her and Inigo to jump.

“No need to be shy, Olivia dear,” The voice that sounded way-too-familiar-for-Inigo’s-liking spoke up again. “I’m sure Inigo would understand if you explained why we came all the way here to see him.”

_ ‘Wait a second…’  _ Inigo thought.  _ ‘Is that—’ _

“Dad!?!” Inigo squawks. “You’re here too?!?”

“You bet I am, Inigo, my dear boy!” The source of the voice chimes in, coming out of his hiding spot to reveal that Inigo’s suspicions were indeed true. Henry and Olivia, his mother and father, were out here in some area of the forest with their son; much to said son’s embarrassment.

Inigo knew his mother had watched his secret dance practices before, but now that his father had also caught the attention of it as well? He’d told himself that he had gotten over this silly stage fright numerous times; told himself that he could comfortably dance in front of an audience —especially when that audience consisted of his parents, of all people—  but he could feel his face grow redder with each passing second.

Oh, how he wished that a Risen would just come out and put him out of his misery. It would save him the embarrassment that he was currently feeling right now.

“Inigo?” Olivia asks, cutting off her son’s trail of thoughts.

“Y-Yes, Mother?” Inigo shyly speaks, stumbling over his words a little.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking this but…”

“But ‘what’?”

“D-Do you mind telling your father and I why you took the time to come out here? Especially when it’s snowing like this, too…” Olivia asks once more.

Inigo averts his gaze, unable to find it in him to answer his mother’s question.

“Come now, Inigo!” Henry cries out. “Surely you can tell your own parents what’s on your mind!”

“... Promise you and mother won’t laugh at me when I tell you?” Inigo asks, his voice still a little shaky.

“Our lips are sealed! We won’t tell a single soul; just a little secret between a son and his loving mother and father!” Henry reassures him.

“Mother?”

“Your father and I promise to keep this between the three of us, Inigo,” Olivia nods.

Inigo looks up so that he’s making eye contact with Henry and Olivia; the expressions on their face showing that they’re sincere and ready to listen to what their son has to say.

Taking a breath and taking another glance around the forest to make sure that no one else was eavesdropping— be it someone from the campsite or a Risen — Inigo prepares himself to speak.

”So you know how I’m from another timeline?” Inigo begins.

Henry and Olivia both nod. Inigo takes that as his cue to continue.

”Well, before everything went to literal hell and both of you were still alive in the future, sometimes I wanted to go outside and dance when it was snowing outside,” he goes on.

”If it wasn't a huge blizzard, Mother would let me go outside and dance among the snowflakes. She’d even dance along with me so I wouldn’t slip on my feet and fall. Father would even join too if he mustered up the courage to deal with the cold.”

As the words spill from Inigo’s lips, Olivia and Henry could see tears beginning to form in their son’s eyes as he shared his story. Regardless, they remained silent and let him continue, scared that he would stop if they pointed out that he was on the brink of crying.

”Even after both of you died, I’d find myself continuing that small ‘tradition’; going to some secluded area free from any Risen and dancing while it continued to snow. It wasn’t much, but it… it was something that would help me remind of good memories; a time when we— well  _ I  _ wasn’t trying to survive an apocalypse…”

When Inigo finally finished, tears were streaming down his face faster than he could manage to wipe them away; small hiccuping sounds accompanying them. He mentally cursed himself for breaking a self-made promise that he wasn’t going to break down crying—especially when it was in front of his parents—  yet here he was sobbing the most he has ever done since his parents’ passing back in the doomed timeline he and his friends had escaped from.

It wasn’t until he felt two pairs of arms wrapping around either side of him and holding him close in a firm yet gentle hug. Inigo opens his eyes to see that Henry and Olivia were hugging him; their hold on him showing that they weren’t going to let him run away, no matter how much he wanted the ground to swallow him whole so he didn’t have to deal with the embarrassment.

“M-Mother? F-Father—” Inigo speaks up.

“Shhhhh,” Henry whispers. “Don’t say anything else, Inigo. This is the least we can do for you.”

“But—”

“Inigo, please,” Olivia interrupts, the tone of her voice both serious and soft. “We don’t want to pretend that we know and understand what you’ve been through and how painful it must have been for you, you are still our son regardless and we want to help ease that pain in whatever way we can.”

Olivia moves her hand to wipe away a stray tear on Inigo’s cheek with her thumb, wearing a smile that’s as soft and gentle as her. When Inigo makes eye contact and begins to shy away almost immediately, Olivia firmly holds his face in both of her hands so that she has his full attention.

“Do you understand what I’m saying, Inigo?” Olivia asks; her grip on her son’s face easing a little bit.

“I…I think so…” Is all Inigo could manage to say, his voice no louder than a quiet whisper.

When he sees that his mother’s smile grows the tiniest bit brighter, she and Henry release Inigo from their small group hug and Olivia reaches her hand out towards him; like she’s offering it for him to hold.

Inigo raises his eyebrow at the gesture, unsure of what Olivia has in mind.

“Inigo,” Olivia says, her smile never wavering. “If it’s okay with you, would you allow me to dance with you?”

“M-Mother, what are you trying to—”

“I know it may not exactly be the same as you remember from when you were a child, but I hope that this will suffice,” Olivia explains. “Is that alright?”

Not sure on how to respond, Inigo turns to look at Henry, who in return ushered him to return Olivia’s gesture.

Turning his gaze back towards Olivia, Inigo, with some hesitation, reaches his hand out for his mother to hold. Giving her son’s hand a solid squeeze, she pulls him along and before Inigo could see what was coming he found himself dancing along with Olivia amongst the falling snow. He stumbled a bit at first out of sheer surprise, but he manages to get his footing back and lets himself embrace the moment that he hasn’t experienced in what feels like several years.

It may feel small in the future, but for now, dancing in what feels like a winter wonderland with his parents means the whole world to Inigo and he’ll forever be grateful for it.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! I had a lot of fun writing stuff in 2018, and I hope to continue that momentum going into 2019!


End file.
